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My name is Flavia, I am a doctoral student at the University of Surrey, UK, looking for for people interested in taking part in my research.

The study looks at the regulation of emotions and behaviours in people who have been disgnosed with BPD or experience difficulties that are consistent with the diagnosis. It involves completing and online survey, which should take approximately 30 minutes. I also offer the option to enter a prize draw and win a £20 (or equivalent) Amazon voucher.

If you wish to know more about the research and take part you can follow the link below:

Strange it doesn't work for you....I've just clicked on the link and it does take me to the survey and the information sheet that leads to it...if it doesn't work maybe you can try to copy and paste it in your browser? Let me know if you keep having problems with it...

At the bottom of the information page there should be an arrow in the right-hand corner. If you click on that it will lead you to the another page where you will be asked for your consent to take part...if you agree, continue through the next couple of pages by clicking on the arrow(s) at the bottom of the page and you should be able to start answering questions...

Hope this makes sense! Let me know if you have any other problems with it. Cheers,F

In case anyone is interested, this research program is conducted entirely online. You do NOT need to have an official diagnosis so long as you have experienced difficulties that are consistent with the DSM-IV Diagnostic Criteria. Completion of the online questionnaire will take about 30 minutes.

I encourage everyone to take the time to provide feedback through this valuable research!

I wanted to let people know that I have now closed the survey so it will not be possible to access it.

A massive thank you goes to everyone who has taken part in my survey, I couldn't have completed it without your help! If you would like a summary of the results, please feel free to contact me. I will analyse the data and prepare one asap.

I wanted to thank all the people who have taken part in my research and the moderators for allowing me to post on the forum.

Now that I have analysed the data I want to share some of the results with all those who are interested. What follows is a brief summary of what the research entailed:

Background to the Study

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is broadly characterised by relationship difficulties, impulsive behaviours, an unstable sense of self and high levels of distress. Research has shown that people with BPD are more likely to feel that their emotions are very intense and out of control, which may lead them to engage in a number of behaviours, such as self-harm and suicide attempts, to try and bring emotions down to a manageable level. People may also use maladaptive coping strategies such as avoidance in an attempt to reduce high levels of emotion.

One of the therapies that has been developed for treating people with BPD is Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), which has been shown to be effective in various studies. Despite this, little is known about how DBT works, as the therapy is made up of many components. One of the core skills that are taught in DBT is mindfulness, which encourages awareness and nonjudgmental acceptance of present moment experience.

This research aimed to investigate the role of mindfulness skills and the use of avoidance of unwanted experience in the regulation of emotions and behaviours for people who have been diagnosed with BPD. In particular, it aimed to explore whether people who are more mindful are less likely to feel that their emotions are out of control and engage in unhelpful behaviours to regulate intense levels of emotion. The use of avoidance as a coping strategy was expected to have the opposite effects (i.e. increase impulsive behaviours and decrease the ability to control emotional experience).

Results and Implications

Results indicated that:

1. Mindfulness is a helpful skill that can lead people diagnosed with BPD to be less likely to behave impulsively and to feel emotionally out of control. This provides evidence in support of the theoretical assumptions of DBT and the biosocial model that underpins it. Results suggest that mindfulness is indeed a ‘core skill’ that needs to be fostered in people who experience difficulties consistent with BPD as it could help to reduce some of those difficulties.

2. One of the ways through which mindfulness leads to the beneficial effects outlined above is by decreasing the use of avoidance as a coping strategy. This can be explained as mindfulness increases a willingness to stay with both pleasant and unpleasant experience, promoting a non-judgemental acceptance of all aspects of the experience. This means increased tolerance of negative affect by viewing emotions as ‘just emotions’ rather than as a threat to be avoided.

3. People who use avoidance as a coping strategy to deal with their negative emotions tend to find it more difficult to regulate their emotions and are more likely to behave impulsively in an attempt to regulate emotional experience. This suggests that addressing avoidance could be an important goal in the treatment of BPD, a goal that is already implicit in both DBT and other therapies developed for BPD. However, it would be helpful to make it a specific target of therapy and look at how each individual tends to use avoidance, developing a specific plan to address it when problematic.

On the whole, the study has provided evidence for the problematic effects that the use of avoidance as a coping strategy can have for people diagnosed with BPD. It has also shown how mindfulness can be a useful skills, both in its own right and as a way of counteracting the use of avoidance.

If you have any further questions about the research or want some clarifications I'll be happy to provide that....thanks again to everyone for your help and support and I wish you all the best!!